Flash Flood — Martinsville (c), Virginia

2018-05-18 · near Martinsville, Martinsville (c), Virginia

Event narrative

Numerous roads were flooded across the City of Martinsville and several homes were flooded. The roof of a department store partially collapsed due to the weight of water. A local state of emergency was declared by the City Council in the aftermath due to the massive cleanup required. Local sources stated that 4 to 5 inches of rain fell in approximately one hour.

Wider weather episode

The synoptic pattern remained little changed from the previous day with deep moisture in place. Several bands of very heavy rainfall pushed north from the Carolinas in the late afternoon and evening as weak area of low pressure over the southeast lifted slowly northward. The slow-moving storms were highly efficient rainfall producers that affected number of areas in southside Virginia, most notably the Martinsville and Danville areas. Rainfall totals were generally 2 to 4 inches occurring over a several hour period with isolated higher amounts.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6914, -79.9102)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 749855. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.